Hello peoples!

This fic has actually been sitting on my computer for a very long time, so I finally decided to publish it. It's connected to my fics Shifter and Talon and also takes place during Season 1. I think I started writing it shortly after Artemis was introduced...yeah, it's been sitting here for a REALLY long time...-3-'

Disclaimer: No. There would be a lot less hiatiuses (Is that even a word? What is the plural of hiatus?)

SOS

The team was in the cave, sparring, Robin verses Conner, Wally verses Megan, Artemis verses Kaldur, under Batman's supervision. Normally, Black Canary would supervise their training, but Batman had decided that it was time he personally evaluated the team's capabilities. No one protested. Though Robin snickered when he saw his teammate's faces pale ever so slightly when the announcement was made.

They had just been allowed a water break when the holo-screen flared to life with a call from a secure emergency line.

"Shifter to Cave."

The team noticed that Robin froze, straightening, playful, cocky smirk replaced by a frown when Batman hit a button allowing the image to appear. A girl's pale face filled the screen. She looked to be about Robin's age, hood covering her black hair, solid black eyes looking at the screen. She seemed to relax slightly when her eyes fell on Batman.

"Why are you calling the Cave, Shifter?" Batman asked, tone all business. Only Robin could hear the underlying worry.

The girl – Shifter – looked nervous. "Well we've kinda…bit off more than we can chew," she said slowly.

"Son of bitch, Shift!" came the voice of a boy from somewhere off screen. "Just fucking tell him already!"

Shifter glared at something off screen, presumably the boy. "You want to tell him?"

"Hell no! It was your idea to call him, you do it!"

"Then shut up!" the girl cried. Suddenly her eyes widened and she ducked down. The image on the screen moved, not letting the team see what exactly happened to the girl, but the new angle let them see a boy around the same age in a dark gray bodysuit, black jacket, and red domino mask fighting a large number of thugs. After a distinct crack and a heavy thump, the screen turned back to Shifter.

Batman's eyes narrowed. "Shifter. Report."

She snapped to attention, though it was clear she was still struggling with someone. "Right. Bank robbery was reported on the corner of Fifth and Main," she said, grunting as she blocked a hit, "Tal! Six o'clock! Talon and I went to investigate," she continued.

"Shift! Twelve o'clock, low!" came the boy's – Talon's – voice.

Shifter moved accordingly. "Ambush waiting for us," she said her sentences becoming simpler to let her concentrate more on the fight. "Something's up. Fear toxin. Scarecrow's still in Arkham; we checked. So either he sold it, it was stolen, or he is somehow involved. Possibly with our resident clown. Traces of Joker venom were found in several civilians on the scene. We administered the anti-venom."

"Any sign of major villains?" Batman asked, tone not changing.

"No. So far, it's just been lackeys. But—"

A maniacal laugh cut off whatever she had been about to say. She paled, eyes widening.

"Shit," came Talon's voice. "We are so fucked."

Shifter turned back to the screen. "Batman," her eyes found Robin in the background, "Robin –"

An explosion sounded behind her. "Talon!" she yelled, voice cracking as she too was hit by the blast.

"Shift! Talon!" Robin shouted, running up to stand next to Batman, a worried and panicked expression on his face.

"Relax, Big Bird," came Talon's voice.

Shifter coughed, reappearing. "We're good."

"Well, we'll just have to fix that won't we?"

There was a sickening crack, a shrill scream followed by insane laughter, and suddenly, Shifter's image was gone.

"You bastard!" yelled Talon as he rushed passed the screen, "Get away from her!"

The sound of a gun going off, a chocked cry, and a heavy thud.

"No!" Robin shouted at the screen, taking a step forward, only to have Batman put a hand on his shoulder.

"Well hello there, Batsie!" A white face with a painfully large smile entered the screen. "Oooo, and bird boy too! How lovely!" He laughed. "I know that you two have been busy with your little team. But your Uncle J didn't want your littlest birds to feel left out. No, no that just wouldn't do. So I've arranged a little play date!" It shouldn't have been possible, but his grin got wider. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of them." He threw his head back and laughed before the feed was cut.

The team looked on in shock as Batman and Robin immediately began attempting to trace the signal.

What just happened?

*x*x*

The air in the bio-ship was tense.

The team kept glancing at Robin, whose posture was rigid and firm. Their youngest member was clearly worried about the two that had contacted the cave, they all were. But something had made the young hero retreat into himself, leaving a cold, unfeeling exterior. He had faced the team, standing by Batman's side when he assigned them a mission to find the kidnapped pair, his expression hard. He hadn't said a word since then and it was starting to worry the others.

"Robin?" Wally asked softly, "You okay, dude?"

It was silent for a long moment before Robin turned to his best friend. "Fine," he said, his tone cool and controlled.

Wally frowned. "Don't lie to me, Rob," he said. He watched as the raven haired boy turned away and suddenly something slid into place. "That was them, wasn't it?"

Robin twitched, shoulders hiking up slightly in a defensive posture.

"Them?" Megan asked, clearly confused.

When Robin stayed silent, Wally explained, though his bright green eyes never left the bird. "Shifter and Talon, Batman's other partners."

"Batman has other partners?" Conner asked, eyebrows raised.

"I have heard of them," Kaldur said softly, "But I have never met them before."

"Neither have I," Wally said.

"How come they aren't part of the team?" Artemis asked.

"They decided it was my gig."

Everyone turned to Robin. He wasn't looking at them, but some of the tension had left his body.

"What do you mean?" Megan asked.

Robin shrugged. "Just what I said. They didn't want to be part of it. Shift doesn't really care about being tacked onto Batman; she doesn't need to be independent and she doesn't want to be. And Talon's not ready, he's too young."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "Too young? You're thirteen, how old is this kid?"

"Eleven."

"What is it with Batman and kids?" Artemis said, shocked.

Robin stayed silent.

"I do not think it is our place to judge, Artemis," Kaldur said calmly, though his brow was crinkled in worry.

At this Robin turned toward them. Wally, whose eyes had never left his best friend, noticed his look and knew what was coming next. "It isn't your place," Robin said firmly, "It will never be your place because you don't understand what we've gone through to get to this point."

The others had the decency to look sheepish. Wally's gaze, however, didn't waver. It held a level of seriousness that made the others stare when he spoke. "We'll find them, Robin."

Robin nodded, leaning back in his chair. After a few minutes of silence, they arrived in Gotham and his head jerked toward Megan. "Miss M, Shifter is a telepath, whenever she gets captured, she sends out a message that guides us to her position. Do you think you can find it?"

Megan nodded and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, they glowed white.

Artemis raised an eyebrow. "I thought metas weren't allowed in the city. Unless the situation called for it."

"Shift is the exception," Robin said stiffly.

"I found her," Megan said, interrupting something that Wally suspected would soon become an argument between the two non-metahumans on the team.

Robin's head snapped to her. "Can you link us up?"

Megan nodded. Robin felt the small tug he got whenever Megan entered his mind and soon felt someone else's presence.

'Shift!'

He immediately felt mental shields collapse and several things flooded him at once; fear, worry, relief, PAIN, rolled over him in a drowning burst. Robin hunched forward with a gasp and Megan cried out. The others began asking questions, but Robin ignored them.

'Shifter!'

The pain retreated as the mental shields were put back in place. He became dimly aware of Megan explaining what had happened, but he remained hunched over.

'R-Robin…' Her voice was weak, so weak, 'Tal is…he's going to…I can't…' her mental voice choked off.

'Shift? Shift!' Robin panicked, 'We're coming! Just hang on!'

'Hurry…'

And then she was gone.

Wally watched as his friend straightened, his lips set in a grim line. "What's the plan?" he asked.

Robin turned to him. "Aqualad is the le—"

"Bullshit," Wally interrupted, crossing his arms over his chest. He ignored the shocked looks on the others' faces and kept his eyes on his bird. "What's the plan?" he asked again.

Everyone turned to Robin. The youngest looked around, his expression on of surprise, before he nodded. "Alright. Here's what we do…"

*x*x*

The six heroes slipped silently into the abandoned Arkham building, Robin leading the group.

'I still think it would be better if we split up,' Artemis thought through their mental link, 'We'd cover more ground.'

'Yeah,' Wally rolled his eyes, 'Cause that always works so well in the movies.'

'Enough,' Kaldur's voice was cool and calm. The pair quieted, he was still the leader even if he wasn't in charge at the moment. 'We stick to Robin's plan. This is his city. He knows it and its inhabitants better than we do.'

'I hear something,' Conner though, tilting his head to the side. 'It sounds like…laughter.'

Robin's command was quick and controlled. 'Lead us to it.'

Connor nodded, ducking down a hall, the team hot on his heels. He led them down a flight of stairs and into a corridor on the left. As they progressed, they found Conner was right, the sound of laughter drifting through the halls. It wasn't the Joker's insane cackle, as they had feared when Conner first stated his observation, but rather the laugh of a child. But it sounded twisted and painful. The team felt worry and panic rush through their link before it was crushed and replaced by steel will and determination. The team knew it came from Robin.

The hacker took the lead, all but sprinting down the hall, somehow managing to remain quiet and stealthy. They stopped at pair of double doors that were bolted and locked. Conner made quick work of it, pushing the doors open. The sight that greeted them was anything but pleasant.

Two figures who could only be Shifter and Talon lay in a crumpled heap on the floor. Shifter's wrists were bound behind her back and her ankles were tied together. Something that normally wouldn't be a problem for her, if it weren't for the fact that she was too busy laughing to move. Her back was painfully arched as she writhed on the floor, twisted, gasping laughter tearing itself from her throat. Talon was far worse off. He wasn't moving, his costume ripped and torn. It took a moment for the team to realize that red puddle beneath him was blood. His blood.

Megan put a hand to mouth as she felt her stomach turn. 'How awful…'

'If you can't handle it, don't look,' Robin's voice was cold, hard, 'Keep watch on the perimeter. Joker likely knows we're already here.'

The others realized then that Robin was already crouching over the two fallen heroes, jamming what looked like an epi-pen into Shifter's thigh, quickly moving over to Talon as Wally began to untie her. Shifter's body went lax as her laughter subsided. Artemis moved forward to help after taking a look at Megan's pale face while the others formed a protective circle around them.

Carefully, Robin and Artemis turned Talon over so that he was on his back. A sputtering gasp escaped him and his body arched as he coughed, crimson staining his lips. Robin put a calming hand on his chest and he stilled. His head turned toward the Boy Wonder and his expression became an odd cross between a grimace and a smirk.

"'Bout fuckin' time, Birdie," he wheezed.

"What happened?" Robin asked as he and Artemis began treating his injuries. But there was so much. Too much.

Talon laughed, the sound was hallow and broken, a haunted sound that had no place coming from a child. But Robin remained unfazed. "What'd you think?" He winced as Robin applied a field dressing to the bullet wound in his left shoulder. "Joker took a fuckin' crowbar to me." Robin stiffened, his lips set in a thin line, fists tightened in concealed anger. Wally watched his friend carefully, while the rest of the team was sent reeling at this new information. "Ahh-! Fuckin' hurts. Damn. I'm not gonna be much help getting out of here, Big Bird," he said weakly, a self-loathing smile on his lips as he continued, "Couldn' even stop the freak from gettin' Shift." He gasped again and his expression became pained. "Damnit. He took her laugh, Robin. Her laugh!" The boy looked to be on the verge of tears. "Damnit!"

Robin placed a hand on his forehead, carefully smoothing his hair back. "Everything will be fine," he said, his face and voice devoid of emotion, "We'll get you out."

The team thought that such a cold tone would wind the boy up more, but he relaxed at the words, a smirk tugging his lips as he spoke. "Like hell you will," he grimaced again, hissing, "Fuckin' ribs…!"

"Language…"

Everyone whipped around to stare at the girl that was sitting up with Wally's help. Both Talon and Robin's bodies lost tension at the sound of her hoarse voice. She smirked, her eyes still shut as she fought to manage her pain. "When we get back, I'm telling A he needs to wash your mouth out with soap."

"He can try!" Talon quipped before hacking up more blood.

Shifter opened her eyes at the sound and froze, solid black eyes widening at sight of Talon, the blood, the redredredredred. Then, Talon's head was in her lap, her black hair growing longer, forming white strips of cloth that Robin cut free and used to dress Talon's wounds as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

The team stood, dumbfounded. Though, in retrospect, they should have seen thing coming; her name was Shifter after all. Talon's wounds were quickly dressed and under Robin's direction, Conner carefully scooped the injured boy up. Shifter stood to follow, only to have her knees buckle under her weight. Wally easily caught her, throwing an arm around her waist and lifting one of hers over his shoulder. She shot him a grateful smile, though he noticed it was strained.

"You okay?" he asked.

She released a shaky breath. "I'll live. For the record though, I don't recommend getting hit by fear toxin and Joker venom at the same time."

Wally cringed at the very thought of it, but put on a brilliant smile for her. "Noted."

"Well lookie here, Harley," the team whipped around to see the Joker standing in the door way, Harley a little behind him. "We have guests. And you know what we do with guests, Harley?"

The villainess looked thoughtful. "We entertain them?"

Joker's smile widened and he pat her on the head. "Very good, pumpkin! We must entertain our guests!" Robin frowned as he took up a defensive position in front of his teammates. Joker cackled at this. "Oh, bird boy, what's the matter? We were just playing a game. You know how little Shift there likes games."

Shifter tensed against Wally and the speedster turned slightly so she was hidden from the insane clown's view. Talon shifted in Conner's grip, turning hidden eyes on the clown, glaring daggers at him. "You stay the fuck away from her," he wheezed.

Joker pouted. "Well you're no fun. Harles, dear, I believe our guests are bored."

"They sure look it, Mistah J. Should I bring out some games?"

Joker brightened. "That is a brilliant idea my dear!"

Harley pulled out a bazooka (seemingly out of nowhere) and aimed it at the team, a large grin on her face. Before she could pull the trigger however, the skylight shattered, raining glass down on the people in the room. Wally and Conner curled over their charges protectively as a dark shadow collided with Harley, knocking the weapon from her hands before delivering a swift kick to Joker's stomach.

The figure glanced over at them and the team had enough time to see the yellow bat symbol that decorated her chest before she called out. "Robin!"

The young bird jumped into the fray, going hand to knife with Joker while the new comer fought Harley. After getting over their initial shock, the other's joined in.

"Miss M, get them to the bioship!" Robin called.

Megan nodded and carefully lifted Talon from Conner's arms and let Shifter lean on her, leading them out of the room as Superboy and Kid Flash joined the fight. She flew them to the bioship as quickly as she could. Talon passed out on the way there and Shifter was fighting to stay awake. Megan carefully laid Talon down on a med-table when they reached the ship. Megan tried to get Shifter to lay down but the younger girl refused, waving her away.

"No, I'm good. I don't have that many serious physical injuries. Just a concussion and few bruised ribs probably," she sighed, leaning heavily on the wall, her face screwed up in concentration, "Just tired from all the junk they pumped into me."

"At least sit down," Megan said, a hint of begging in her tone, "You really shouldn't be standing."

Shifter eyed her wearily. "Okay. But can I stay with Tal?"

Megan smiled. "Of course."

A chair grew out of the floor next to Talon's bed and Megan helped the girl slip into it. She let out a grateful sigh. "Thanks."

Suddenly, Wally appeared in a blur of color. "How are they?"

"Fine," Megan said, "Talon passed out on the way here. Where are the others?"

"On their way. Batgirl's staying behind with the freaks to wait for police pick up." Wally's form was tense, cautious. "When Rob comes onboard, give him some space, Megs."

Megan's brow furrowed in confusion and worry, but she nodded. Perhaps she would ask Kaldur later what happened, but for now, she let it go. Wally walked over to the two younger teens as Megan left to wait for the others. Talon was still blissfully unconscious, but his fingers and face twitched every so often. Shifter was leaning back in her chair, eyes closed, as she took deep breaths, like she was meditating.

"You doing okay?" Wally asked though he knew it was a stupid question.

Still, Shifter turned to look up at him with a small smile. "Meh. I'll just have nightmares for, oh about a week or two, but pretend nothing's wrong until someone invades my privacy enough to find out. It'll probably be Rob. But if this ends the way I think it will, it might be you."

Wally raised an eyebrow. "And what way is that? And why me exactly?"

Shifter chuckles. "Me and Tal spending time around the Cave. Which I'm not against. And I know you know pretty much everything about Rob. Including his nightmares." Wally's face showed shock and Shifter smiled. "Don't be so surprised. Rob's my twin, he can't keep much from me, just like I can't keep much from him. And between the two of us, Tal has no hope." She paused, here expression becoming solemn, thoughtful. "Thanks for taking care of him, Wally."

Wally blinked. "Uh…no problem." He looked at her smile again and sighed."Ya know, for a Bat, you're pretty free with the emotions there."

She shrugged, then winced at the action. "I get that a lot. But there has to be at least one person in our family who isn't emotionally constipated, and as good as Rob is, he still has that guy-thing going for him where he has to hide all his emotions cause he needs to be Mr. Macho-man. No offence."

Wally laughed. "None taken. I have to wonder though, how do they deal with you?"

"They don't," she said with a tired smirk.

At that moment, the rest of the team boarded the bioship, Robin heading straight for Shifter and Talon. Wally got up and let Robin take his place. Megan piloted the ship away from Gotham, setting a course for Mt. Justice. The team watched Robin from the corners of their eyes, surprised when he pulled Shifter's drooping form into his lap. One of her hands held onto Talon's, their fingers intertwined, Robin's hand over theirs'. Talon twitched again and groaned. Shifter leaned forward some, getting as close to him as she could.

"Shhh, Tal, shhhh," she whispered, her voice still hoarse from the harsh laughter. "It started out as a feeling," she sang softly, Talon relaxed, the tension leaving his muscles, "Which then grew into a hope, which then turned into a quiet thought, which then turned into a quiet word. And then that word grew louder and louder, till it was a battle cry. I'll come back, when you call me, no need to say goodbye."

Robin pulled Shifter back so that she was leaning against him, her hand still holding onto Talon's. Much to the team's surprise, he picked up the song where she had left off. "Now, we're back to the beginning," Robin's voice wasn't as smooth Shifter's, but it was just as warm, just as calming, "It's just a feeling and no one knows yet, but just because they can't feel it too, doesn't mean that you have to forget. Let your memories grow stronger and stronger, till they're before your eyes. You'll come back, when they call you. No need to say goodbye."

Shifter's eyes fluttered closed, her head resting in the crook of Robin's neck, hands loosely fisted in his uniform as she drifted off. No one said a word, not wanting to ruin the moment between the young heroes. The ship was quiet all the way back to the cave.

*x*x*

The atmosphere during the team's debrief was tense.

As soon as the bioship had landed, Shifter and Talon had been rushed to the infirmary. Shifter's ribs had been bandaged and her head was checked; she had a minor concussion. She was put in a bed and promptly passed out. Talon, on the other hand, had needed surgery. One of his ribs had punctured a lung and the bullet had still been lodged in his shoulder, not to mention he had lost a lot of blood. He was stable now, but it had been touch and go for a while.

Batman left for the infirmary as soon as the debriefing was over.

Robin sighed, running a hand through his hair, before turning to the team and giving them a tired smile. "Thanks, guys," he said sincerely.

"No prob," Wally said with a shrug, grinning easily.

"You do not need to thank us, Robin," Kaldur added, "You are our friend. We are happy to help you."

"But they'll be stuck here for a while though, right?" Artemis asked, "I mean Talon really shouldn't be moved…"

"Robin shrugged. "Dunno. Probably. He'll probably be asleep for a day or two anyway."

Megan brightened. "Oh! If they're staying, I should make some food!"

The team watched as the Martian girl dragged Conner off to the kitchen, babbling about what they needed. Connor looked oddly okay with it.

Wally sighed dramatically. "And so, everything returns to normal."

Robin chuckled.

"Careful, Baywatch," Artemis said, "You'll jinx us."

Wally crossed his arms. "It's not like we couldn't handle it."

"Perhaps it would be best not to push our luck," Kaldur said, a small smile on his lips at his friends' antics.

"You're siding with her!" Wally exclaimed in mock outrage.

Artemis snorted and rolled her eyes. "Because I'm right."

Robin grinned as the pair dissolved in an argument and looked up at Kaldur. "Ah, home sweet home," he said with a small cackle.

Kaldur smiled. "Indeed."

Not to sure how I feel about the ending, but overall I like it.

Any thoughts?

~Elri